New managers appointed for Iran's free-trade zones

The Iranian government appointed three new managers for the country's free-trade zones, replacing the reformist director of the Persian Gulf's Kish zone.

The Iranian government appointed three new managers for the country's free-trade zones, replacing the reformist director of the Persian Gulf's Kish zone, the official IRNA news agency said Monday.

In Kish, which is regarded as a showcase of the western world in Iran and has strong trade links with Dubai, Mohammad-Reza Izad-Panha, a former managing publisher of the daily Azad, was replaced by Hossein Ghasemi, former chief executive of the Iran International Exhibitions Company. Panha is being prosecuted for his activities at the newspaper, which has been suspended.

In Qeshm, another Persian Gulf island, war veteran Behruz Bushehri was replaced by former vice minister of culture and Islamic orientation, Fakhreddin Anvar. In the southeast free zone of Tsharbahar, which was without a head for several months, the government appointed a famous economist and academic, Mohammad Taghi Salebi.